A new fucosyl antigen expressed on colon adenocarcinoma and embryonal carcinoma cells

Abstract

Carbohydrate antigens on the surface of mammalian cells have recently gained renewed interest because some are specifically expressed at certain stages of cellular differentiation1–4. Most of the useful antibodies detecting such carbohydrate antigens have been monoclonal antibodies produced by the hybridoma technique using whole cells as the inununogen1–3 or the antibodies in the sera of some of human patients4. Here we report that an antiserum raised against an unusual carbohydrate linkage prepared by organic synthesis can preferentially react with certain tumour cells. Thus, an antiserum against the Fucαl → 3Gal linkage reacted with human colon adenocarcinoma cells and murine teratocarcinoma cells but reacted only with severely restricted regions in normal tissues.